Deep-C

Education and outreach products generated by the Deepsea to Coast Connectivity in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico (DEEP-C) consortium.

Lesson Plan (Ages 4-14): The Great Plankton Race

Plankton are a very important part of the food chain in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico drift through the ocean carried by currents. Although plankton can’t control their movements against the current, they are able to maintain neutral buoyancy by increasing their surface area-to-volume ratio as well as by producing and releasing lipids (fats). In Read More

Videos: Oil Degradation and Fingerprinting in the Beach Environment

Biodegradation? Chromatography? While scientists toss these terms around with no problem, they can sound like a foreign language to others. The Deep-C consortium partnered with CPALMS, an online toolbox providing free instructional resources for educators, to create a series of videos related to Deepwater Horizon research and the Gulf Oil Observers (GOO) project. High School Read More

Fact Sheets: Deep-C Science and Outreach Fact Sheets

The Deep Sea to Coast Connectivity in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico (Deep-C) Consortium released a series of publicly available and easy-to-read fact sheets detailing their scientific research and outreach initiatives: Science: Deepwater Corals What are corals? Where and how do they live? What are the threats to Gulf corals? Click here to download. Science: Read More

Ten Outstanding Education Products Six Years After Deepwater Horizon 2912_sm

Communicating oil spill research is essential to improve society’s understanding about spills and their ability to respond to and mitigate them. The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) has been funding spill-related research since 2010. Here are ten outstanding education products and resources that GoMRI and its science community have developed to share what they Read More

Software: Deep-C Helps Develop Open-Source Ocean Modelling Software opendrift_2040

A new, open source software for modeling the trajectories and fate of particles (Lagrangian Elements) drifting in the ocean, or even in the atmosphere, has been developed a the Norwegian Meteorological Institute in cooperation with the Institute of Marine Research. The software, known as OpenDrift, is a generic framework written in Python. It is openly Read More

Grad Student Cruz Bridges Disciplines to Track Tiniest Plankton’s Response to Oil Spill Deep-C_Cruz_MicroscopeIMG_0537-web-225x169.jpg" alt="Jarrett Cruz examines nannoplankton samples under a microscope. (Photo provided by Jarrett Cruz)

Jarrett Cruz has been all over the world studying nannoplankton, a marine species he did not know existed when his journey began. Jarrett’s research into these minuscule creatures spans both biology and geology as he studies the impact of oil on nannoplankton that live in the Gulf of Mexico. Jarrett, a geology Ph.D. student at Read More

Curriculum: Gulf of Mexico Multidisciplinary High School Curriculum Deep-C High School Curriculum Now Available Online

A team of scientists and education staff developed a user-friendly curriculum to help students make connections between the theoretical nature of science and real world applications. This education tool uses application-based science conducted by the Deep-C Consortium to improve Gulf of Mexico literacy and addresses issues such as environmental disasters, their impacts on ocean ecosystems, Read More

Grad Student Shin Shines Light on Oil-Degrading Microbes in Sediment Bicheng working in lab

Boryoung Shin is breaking new ground in microbiology, uncovering little known facts about an enigmatic and important species in the Gulf of Mexico. Boryoung Shin works in an anaerobic chamber at the Kostka Lab at Georgia Tech. (Photo credit: Max Kolton) After the Deepwater Horizon incident, certain bacteria rapidly increased and helped degrade the oil. Read More

Scientists Put ROV Technology in Hands of Teachers and Students 3355a

As science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills become increasingly important to the 21st century workforce, what better way to foster those skills in middle and high school students than an old-fashioned friendly competition? Over the past four years, the Deep Sea to Coast Connectivity in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico (Deep-C) consortium and the Read More

Video: High School Teacher Holds Class on the Beach High School Teacher Holds Class at the Beach

What could be better than having class on the beach and conducting actual research to boot? See how Shawn Walker, a marine science teacher at West Florida High School, transforms his students into scientists. A CPALMS perspective Video.

Video: How Crude Oil is Formed and How it Behaves in the Environment How Crude Oil is Formed and How it Behaves in the Environment

Chris Reddy, an oil scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and research for DEEP-C, explains how crude oil is formed and how it behaves in the environment. A CPALMS perspective Video by Chris Reddy.

Video: Using Oil Fingerprints to Explain the Origins of Spilled Oil Using oil fingerprints to explain the origins of spilled oil

Humans aren’t the only ones who get their fingerprints taken. Learn how this scientist is like a crime scene investigator using oil fingerprints to explain the origins of spilled oil. A CPALMS perspective Video by Chris Reddy.

Video: Don’t Cry Over Spilled Oil. Take Action Instead! Don

Learn how scientists are studying what happens to spilled oil and over time how it affects the environment. A CPALMS perspective video by Catherine Carmichael.

Video: High School Students Work Alongside Woods Hole Experts High School Students Work Alongside Woods Hole Experts

Watch how these high school students work alongside Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution experts conducting oil spill science. A C-PALMS perspective Video by Catherine Carmichael.

Grad Student Tominack Answers “What is Normal?” for Gulf’s Smallest Organisms Sarah transfers DNA samples from single-cell organisms in the lab at University of West Florida. (Photo credit: Richard Snyder)

To show how the Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted the Gulf of Mexico, Sarah Tominack is going back to basics. She feels that for scientists to quickly identify the Gulf in distress, they must have a better picture of what “normal” looks like, particularly for microscopic single-celled organisms at the marine food web base called Read More

Grad Student Harper Seeks to Improve Marine and Human Health with Science-Informed Policy Alex Harper collects seawater samples from CTD Rosette Niskin bottles aboard R/V Weatherbird II. (Photo credit: Natalie Geyers)

Alexandra Harper, a passionate environmental advocate, is using her oceanography expertise to help “society better balance human need with ecological health.” She is researching the potential relationship between the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and mercury levels in Gulf of Mexico fishes. Because rises in methyl mercury levels in fish increase chances of these toxins making Read More

Class Project: Oil, Oil Everywhere Credits: CPALMS.ORG

A Hands-On Activity for Children Ages 4-14 The 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion ultimately led to upwards of 5 million barrels (386 Olympic-size swimming pools) of oil saturating the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. This event threatened 8 national parks and 400 species and heavily impacted the economic well being of Gulf States. Cleanup of the spill proved to Read More

Class Project: What Drives Ocean Currents? gulf_stream_currents

A Hands-On Activity for Children Ages 10-14 An ocean current is the movement of water in the ocean. Oceanic currents are driven by tides, winds, and differences in water density. Density is defined as the number of things, in this instance, molecules, in a certain area. Water density is affected by the number of salt Read More

Oil Patty Research with Top Scientists Turns Students into Citizen Science Enthusiasts 2114a

Talk about compounding interest! Put together scientists and teachers who are passionate about their work with students who are eager to help with ongoing research and watch as excitement fuels student engagement, sparks career interest, and feeds enthusiasm of all. And as a side bonus, research is conducted more efficiently in both time and cost. Read More

Educators Dive into ROV Training and Emerge with Innovative Teaching Tools Fairview High School teacher Stephanie Chambers navigates an underwater ROV while out at sea aboard DISL’s R/V Alabama-Discovery. (Photo credit: Tina Miller-Way, DISL)

Ten high school teachers from Alabama and Florida are returning to their 2013-2014 science classes armed with new skills, materials, and inspiration.  In July, these educators attended a five-day workshop entitled Technology in Marine Science. They built and operated Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and, more importantly, learned how to use them as teaching tools in Read More

CARTHE and DEEP-C Inspire Future Scientists Left: 12-year old Kevin Telfer from Boston, MA, with the prototype drifter buoy he and a fellow science partner Harrison Reiter built and field tested for their science fair project titled, “Deployment of a Drifter Buoy in the Sudbury River: Prototype Design and Results.” (Photo by Brian Telfer) Right: High school sophomore Elizabeth Smithwick from Jacksonville, FL, collects soil samples along the St. Johns River for her science fair project titled, “The Isolation, Examination, and Comparison of Hydrocarbon Degrading Bacteria in the St. Johns River.” (Photo provided by Elizabeth Smithwick)

Scientists conducting GoMRI-funded oil spill research take their mission regarding society seriously: They employ cutting-edge technology to collect and analyze data using rigorous scientific parameters and publish their findings. But there are other ways these researchers define success, like working with students. When young students seek answers to scientific questions and contact them, these scientists Read More